Start-up applicants from around the world gathered at LACI and in the Arts District for the 5-day LA CoMotion event focused on urban mobility

Los Angeles, CA – November 21, 2017 –The NewCities Foundation and the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI) have announced the winners of The L.A. New Mobility Challenge, identifying the next greatest zero emission transportation technologies, shared mobility and urban transportation solutions. The global startup competition, a joint initiative of LACI and NewCities Foundation, was held in conjunction with the LA CoMotion Conference and Expo on the future of urban mobility.
Fifteen finalists from more than one hundred global entrants competed for prizes and were featured throughout the LA CoMotion Expo and Street of the Future showcase. Each startup pitched their mobility solution to a packed audience at the La Kretz Innovation Campus for a chance to win $15,000 and the opportunity to receive mentorship, skills development, and market entry assistance from LACI’s Executives-in-Residence (EIR) team. Winners were chosen in five categories focused on zero emissions, autonomous vehicles, smart infrastructure, shared mobility and other sustainable urban transportation solutions.

ELECTRIFICATION: Ampaire — Los Angeles, California
Ampaire is developing high performance, zero emission electric aircraft to overcome the greatest burdens of aviation – high operating cost, noise, and pollution. Ampaire is building towards a zero emissions future in aviation, starting with the first commercial, nine-passenger, fully electric aircraft capable of flying from LA to San Francisco in less than 90 minutes.

SHARED MOBILITY: Revmax — New York City, New York
REVMAX builds intelligent fleet management tools that predict demand based on historical transit data and current conditions such as temperature, precipitation, traffic, events and holidays. Revmax uses big data and applies machine learning to maximize fleet efficiency and therefore save time, money and fuel while reducing street congestion and CO2 pollution.

AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES: what3words — London, United Kingdom
what3words is a global addressing system that has divided the world into 57 trillion 3m x 3m squares, each with a unique and fixed three-word address, providing a simple and human-friendly way to talk about precise locations. More universal and more accurate than street addressing, what3words has been built into navigation and transit systems, autonomous vehicles and drones.

PERSONAL MOBILITY: ShareRoller — New York City, New York
ShareRoller uses an innovative friction-drive technology to add electric power to conventional bikes and scooters. ShareRoller is a portable device that can motorize bikes, kick scooters, and the bike share fleets of over 20 cities interchangeably, can be installed or removed in seconds.

“It’s an exciting time for LACI to host LA CoMotion and the L.A. New Mobility Challenge here at the campus − thanks to the voters who approved Measure M to provide more than $120 billion for transit, L.A. has an incredible opportunity to lead the world in smart mobility solutions while reducing pollution in our most disadvantaged communities,” stated Matt Petersen, President and CEO of the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator. “Through The L.A. New Mobility Challenge, LACI is looking for ways to accelerate zero emissions and shared mobility goals by the time the 2028 Olympic games arrive in Los Angeles, and these innovative start-ups are helping to lead the way.”

John Rossant, Chairman of the NewCities Foundation and Chief Curator at LA CoMotion stated, “The success of the world’s greatest cities will be measured by how well people and goods move from one place to another. The finalists of The L.A. New Mobility Challenge represent some of the brightest leaders at the cutting edge of new mobility. The Challenge also highlights the growing global importance of Los Angeles as a capital of transportation technology.”

About LACI

The Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI) is a private non-profit organization helping to accelerate the commercialization of clean technologies and ensuring an inclusive green economy by unlocking innovation, transforming markets and enhancing community. Founded as a cluster-driven economic development initiative by the City of Los Angeles and its Department of Water & Power (LADWP), LACI is recognized as one of the most innovative business incubators in the world by UBI. In just five years, LACI has helped 65+ companies raise $135M in funding, create 1,500 jobs, and deliver more than $335M in long term economic value. LACI operates out of the La Kretz Innovation Campus in downtown LA with satellite offices in Northridge and the Silicon Valley, and is founder of the Network for Global Innovation NGIN. LACI recently acquired the Cleantech Open to amplify and expand their positive impact toward building an inclusive green global economy. For more information, please visit http://laci.org/ and follow us on Twitter and Facebook @LACIncubator.

About NewCities

NewCities is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to making cities more inclusive, connected, healthy and vibrant. Focusing on people, places and policies, we bring together a global network of public and private sector leaders and Urban Tech innovators to foster results-
oriented collaboration. We also produce actionable research that can be implemented by decision-makers across sectors. www.newcities.org@NewCities

About LA CoMotion

LA CoMotion is a unique five-day event bringing together the global leaders of the urban mobility revolution – a revolution that is set to transform every city in the world, large and small. The first edition of LA CoMotion took place in Downtown Los Angeles’ vibrant Arts District from November 16-19 2017. The immersive event features cutting-edge discussions, demos, test drives and exhibitions – an unforgettable glimpse into our urban future. www.lacomotion.com@LA_CoMotion